Posted on 02/14/2007 11:24:30 AM PST by blam
Wife studies why husband ignores nagging
DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says some people just can't help ignoring their nagging spouses.
The research, which appears online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that people do not necessarily oppose others' wishes intentionally.
Duke University researchers found that "some people will act in ways that are not to their own benefit simply because they wish to avoid doing what other people want them" to do.
Psychologists describe the behavior at "reactance" -- a person's tendency to resist social influences that they perceive as threats to their autonomy.
Tanya L. Chartrand, an associate professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, said even "the slightest non-conscious exposure to the name of a significant person in their life is enough to bring about reactance and cause them to rebel against that person's wishes."
Chartrand said she undertook the research as a way to understand why her husband often seemed to ignore her requests for help around the house.
"My husband, while very charming in many ways, has an annoying tendency of doing exactly the opposite of what I would like him to do in many situations," Chartrand said in a release.
"Chartrand said she undertook the research as a way to understand why her husband often seemed to ignore her requests for help around the house."
Because she wont wear a thong and make a dance out of it?
From personal experience, I hate being told over and over what I need to do. We know what to do and if we forgot or mess up, we don't need it pound into our head over and over again. We're not five. Repetition stops working pass a certain age.
When my Wife nags about chores, I simply make them much more complicated than the feminine mind can comprehend. Pulling weeds for example seems simple enough until you add the seasonal differences accompanied by the differing varieties of unwanted vegetation, coupled with the proper removal and application of herbicide/defoliant so as not to effect the surrounding "good" vegetation because after all you don't want endanger her flowers or expose them shrub ricket, or the ever deadly mosaical compertunosis which has been known to mutate and effect the surrounding human populations. Then there is the added worry genetic fall over whereas it is illegal in 37 of the 50 states to propagate plants in correlation with pulling weeds, and the penalties are enforced by the ATF and we all know what happens when they show up.
Or some such nonsense. Then back to the game and a fresh beer.
Shhhhhh!!! Never, ever give away our secrets to the other gender. (Man Law).
Forget the nagging spouse - think about this in terms of nanny state laws.........
When we're out for a drive, if I nag him to "slow down" he always "speeds up"..on purpose.
Happy Valentines Day everyone..
sw
Nam Vet
I think you're on to something. My mom would have been a goner years ago if my dad hadn't pulled this little brain trick.
Thats the beauty of this. They cannot tell if your full of it or not, depending on the delivery. Newly married men may want to start small then become more grandiose over time with their ruses.
That's funny!!!!!!!
I'll remember that the next time my husband tells me I need to weed the veggies :)
Would you mind sending me your wife's e-mail?
nah won't work...my wife tried that a few weekends ago. She said, "Please sleep all day, and relax." I did. She wasn't too happy.
Ping--Happy Valentine's Day.
Oh, there's a right answer, but one of the Tablets says "Thou Shalt Not Lie", and the truth is, more often than not, it ain't the fig leaf's fault. So, instead of lying, we change the subject or feign deafness. Now if God doesn't mind a little white lie, the "correct" answer is: "My dearest, a mere fig leaf could not ever hope to do justice to your beauty." (KDIBS)
Nam Vet
Sure there is! "Does this make me look fat?" "Here, have some chocolate."
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